My Friend Rabbit, written and illustrated by the same talented artist, Eric Rohmann, is fun and charming all wrapped into one of the cutest picture books ever. It is the well-deserved winner of the 2003 Caldecott Medal. With less then one hundred words in the story, the pictures do the bulk of the storytelling, and they do it well.The main characters are two friends, a white rabbit, which trouble seems to follow, and a little brown mouse that loves him anyways.

The pastel blue sky is a perfect backdrop for the boldly outlined characters done in primary colors. Each page is framed in black, adding to the boldness of the outlines in the illustration.A unique twist to the book, which comes as a fun surprise midway through, is when the page of illustrations turns vertical. The reader looks at all the animals stacked up high trying to reach the plane that is stuck in the tree limb. The facial expressions on the creatures faces bring them to life. The reader can get into the characters head and know exactly what they are feeling.

The illustrations in this darling story prove that picture books have their fair share of tension. The reader feels it when the plane gets stuck in the tree and when the animals topple down and are angry at rabbit. The feeling of relief and victory comes when mouse swoops down to save rabbit. Tension builds again when the plane gets stuck in the tree, with the two friends inside this time. That is how the story ends. It seems to be unresolved, but if the reader looks on the back cover, they will see the two friends skipping off together, with not a care in the world. The illustration seems to be saying Alls well that ends well.